Treatment of Sex Offenders

9 Early Detection and Intervention for Adolescents at Risk for Engaging…
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the time of their first nonsexual offense being at greater risk for future nonsexual
delinquency), and peer delinquency (Spice, Viljoen, Latzman, Scalora, & Ullman,
2012 ) and school functioning (Worling & Langton, 2015 )—there has been less
clarity in identifying risk factors unique to sexual offending among adolescent populations.
Risk assessment instruments designed to predict adolescent sexual recidivism—although
certainly better than unstructured clinical judgment—remain
works in progress, in need of further research and development (Viljoen, Elkovitch,
Scalora, & Ullman, 2009 ). Differences in the methodologies and sample populations
between studies, as well as the overall low base rate of sexual recidivism
among youth, have made it difficult to form strong conclusions from these studies.
Nevertheless, research has thus far identified a number of potential risk factors
for the perpetration of sexual violence among adolescents. Listed here are the ones
that have received empirical support in multiple investigations: opportunities to
sexually offend/inadequate adult supervision, atypical/deviant sexual interests or
arousal (i.e., sexual arousal to prepubescent children and/or violence), childhood
sexual victimization, witnessing and experiencing intrafamilial violence, parental
neglect, having ever resided in a family with poor sexual boundaries, sexual preoccupation,
poor self-regulation, social isolation, precocious sexual behavior/prepubescent
nonnormative sexual behavior, having engaged in multiple types of sexual
behaviors, antisocial personality characteristics, and attitudes supportive of sexual
offending (Carpentier, Leclerc, & Proulx, 2011 ; Curwen, Jenkins, & Worling, 2014 ;
Hanson & Morton-Bourgon, 2005 ; McCann & Lussier, 2008 ; Nunes, Hermann,
Malcom, & Lavoie, 2013 ; Salter et al., 2003 ; Seto & Lalumiere, 2010 ; Spice et al.,
2012 ; Tharp et al., 2012 ; Wanklyn, Ward, Cormier, Day, & Newman, 2012 ; Worling
& Langstrom, 2006 ). It is important to note, however, that these risk factors are only
known (or suspected) to be relevant to sexual recidivism among adolescent populations.
Risk factors for the initiation of sexual offending behavior among adolescents
remain yet unknown. It is certainly possible that there exist differences between
those factors that place a teenager at risk for initially engaging in sexually abusive
behavior and those factors that predict subsequent sexual offending, but this remains
an empirical question.
Another problem that impacts on the implementation of primary prevention efforts
for this population is the tremendous diversity among adolescents known to have
offended sexually. Individual youth who have engaged in sexually abusive behavior
can and often do differ from other youth within this population in terms of family
history, intellectual functioning, learning style, mental health, motivation, personality,
and specific offending behaviors, among so many other characteristics (Caldwell,
2002 ; Chaffin, 2008 ; Chaffin, Letourneau, & Silovsky, 2002 ; Hunter, Figueredo,
Malamuth, & Becker, 2003 ; Knight & Prentky, 1993 ; Oxnam & Vess, 2008 ). While
some of these youth have offended against prepubescent children, others (though far
fewer) have offended against peers or adults (Finkelhor et al., 2009 ). And even among
those adolescents who have sexually abused younger children, it is likely that the
majority does not exhibit sexual arousal to prepubescent children (Seto, Lalumiere,
& Blanchard, 2000 ; Worling, 2012 ; Worling, Bookalam, & Litteljohn, 2012 ).